Top chefs earn top honors at United Fresh 2014

Seven chefs are being honored by the United Fresh Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program.

The United Fresh Produce Association will recognize them at United Fresh 2014 in Chicago, June 10-13, according to a news release.

The chefs are participating in a panel session, Restaurant Flavors and Trends from the Best on June 12. Sponsored by ProAct LLC, the program has honored chefs and their companies for seven years.

“We at ProAct continue to be amazed at the creativity, vision, and dedication to fresh produce shown by the honorees in this program,” ProAct president Max Yeater said in the release. “We are so proud to be a sponsor of the Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards and we thank all of the nominees and chefs who work so hard to increase the consumption of healthful fresh fruits and vegetables.”

The winners were picked from more than 130 nominations submitted by produce companies and foodservice operations across North America. A panel of produce and foodservice industry leaders considered each nominee’s incorporation of fresh produce into menu development, use of protocols for correct storage and handling of produce, leadership in produce-related community service and recognition by their company and industry peers, according to the release.

“These winners have made extraordinary dishes that feature fresh fruit and vegetable mainstays on their menus and we are proud to honor them for the important role they play in showcasing our industry,” United Fresh president Tom Stenzel said in the release. “We appreciate their tremendous commitment and recognize ProAct’s generous support in honoring these winners and their positive influence on restaurant menus across the nation.”

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About the Author:

Tom Karst

Tom Karst is national editor for The Packer and Farm Journal Media, covering issues of importance to the produce industry including immigration, farm policy and food safety.
He began his career with The Packer in 1984 as one of the founding editors of ProNet, a pioneering electronic news service for the produce industry. Tom has also served as markets editor for The Packer and editor of Global Produce magazine, among other positions.
Tom is also the main author of Fresh Talk, www.tinyurl.com/freshtalkblog, an industry blog that has been active since November 2006.
Previous to coming to The Packer, Tom worked from 1982 to 1984 at Harris Electronic News, a farm videotext service based in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Tom has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism from Kansas State University, Manhattan.
He can be reached at tkarst@farmjournal.com and 913-438-0769. Find Tom's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/tckarst.